2015 Castlewright Auto Race

The 2015 Castlewright Auto Race was a SUPRAC Cup race held on August 30, 2015 at Castlewright Speedway in Ulcombe, Ianoia. Taking place over 180 laps of the 2.4km oval (1.5 miles), it was the fourth race of the inaugural SUPRAC Cup season.

Background

The fourth race of the SUPRAC Cup represented a significant stage in the season, as it was the last event to be held in Ianoia before the championship transitioned to the Koana Islands the subsequent weekend. This race was notably the second of the season to take place on an Intermediate track, with first race of the 2015 season at the Ravenhill Complex in McCutchen sharing similarities.

In terms of team standings, Whistler Motorsport was prominent, with its drivers, led by Boris Visser, occupying the top three positions in the driver standings. The team had established a considerable lead in the Team Championship, holding a 115-point advantage over their nearest competitor, Super Nova.

In contrast, Red Bull Racing, who were initially considered strong contenders for the Team Championship, experienced a significant setback in the preceding race. All three of Red Bull Racing’s drivers failed to earn points due to a combination of pit lane infractions and mechanical issues, marking a notable deviation from their expected performance trajectory. It was also a tough weekend for Adams Motorsport, who failed to have any of their three drivers qualify for the race, marking it as the first time a team failed to compete in a race. Both Adams and Arcuri remained as the only teams yet to score a point this season.

The period leading up to the race was also marked by disciplinary actions stemming from an incident in the previous event. Ferdi Arnold of Team MRT was involved in a notable post-race incident with Fred Gleeson of Cubley Racing during the Longdon State Auto Race. The altercation, which followed a contentious move on the track and escalated to physical aggression, resulted in Arnold being fined and issued a final warning. Team MRT publicly addressed the incident, asserting a zero-tolerance policy towards violence and indicating the potential consequences for Arnold’s future with the team should similar behavior recur.

Qualifying

In the qualifying session for the fourth race of the SUPRAC Cup season, Austin Parkin of Red Bull Racing clinched Pole Position, securing the team’s third pole of the season with a remarkable time of 29.315 seconds, translating to an average lap speed of 184.206 km/h (114.460 mph). Parkin narrowly outperformed Henrik Krook of Ember Engineering, who significantly improved upon his previous best qualifying position of 22nd, marking a milestone in his racing career.

The session commenced with a tense moment when Whistler Motorsport teammates, Boris Visser and Benoît Douay, engaged in a heated exchange over the team radio. Each driver accused the other of impeding their initial laps, leading to a public apology from both after the session. Despite the internal conflict, Visser and Douay managed to qualify in 6th and 7th positions, respectively. However, it was a challenging day for Whistler Motorsport overall. Their third driver, 18-year-old Bill Redhead, encountered suspension issues 20 minutes into the session, preventing him from participating further and relegating him to the 33rd position on the grid.

The drama continued with Arcuri’s Knud Nielsen, who lost control of his car coming out of Turn 3, resulting in a collision with the wall moments after Redhead had pulled onto the apron. Although Nielsen’s crash ended his participation in the session, his previously set time of 30.245 was sufficient to secure the 34th spot.

Ulrik Wiklund experienced a setback, failing to qualify for the second time this season due to significant mechanical issues during practice that hindered him from setting a lap time in the qualifying session. Sjoerd Schott of WLD Racing also faced difficulties, failing to qualify among the top 40 for the first time this season. Despite holding 5th position in the Championship standings entering the race, Schott’s performance in the qualifying session fell short of expectations.

In a turn of fortune, Lars Peter Wiktorsson of Adams Motorsport qualified 28th, making it his first successful qualification for a race this season after missing the grid in the previous three races. His achievement marked a significant improvement and a hopeful sign for his team.

Race

The race saw thirteen different lead changes from seven different drivers, as Fred Gleeson of Cubley Racing secured the teams first win of the season, overtaking Boris Visser with two laps remaining. Jakob Schweitzer finished third.

Race Report

Early on, Whistler Motorsport drivers Boris Visser and Benoît Douay experienced setbacks, dropping to 13th and 17th positions respectively by Lap 18, but the first significant incident occurred on Lap 24 when Ferdi Arnold of Team MRT executed an aggressive move down the inside of Jeremy Whinnett. While Arnold made the move stick, Whinnett was forced to take evasive action, resulting in substantial bodywork damage after colliding with the barrier. Whinnett managed to repair and return to the track but ended the race unclassified.

Charles Legrand faced difficulties when he spun out onto the infield on Lap 30, after sliding down the order from 4th on the grid to 17th. Despite rejoining safely, he languished in 39th place and eventually recovered to 34th, marking his first non-points finish of the season.

Blake Gilmartin’s day was marred by a drive-through penalty for a pit lane infraction, relegating him to 39th position. Simultaneously, Frans van Schooten, who had overtaken Austin Parkin for the lead, was undercut by Henrik Krook during their pit stops. It was the first of two incidents befalling the Emerald driver, when t race’s first yellow flag was raised on Lap 58 due to Gilmartin’s blown engine, marking his first retirement of the season and Emerald’s first mechanical retirement.

Following the restart, the race proceeded without major incidents for 63 laps, although it saw Team MRT’s Ferdi Arnold pitting for repairs due to handling issues and Dario Heinrich serving a drive-through penalty for an unremoved air wrench.

On Lap 112, Anthony Crow lost the lead, complaining of tightness in turns, and eventually fell to 20th, recovering to 13th by the race end. Boris Visser took the lead on Lap 114 after recovering from his early setback, with a memorable overtake on Lap 44 of Jakob Schweitzer of Ember Engineering moving the Whistler Motorsport driver up to 8th.

Max Arias and Earnest Carter narrowly avoided a wreck on Lap 115, with Arias attempting but failing to overtake Carter, who maintained his 18th position. The Sovereign driver showcased his skill by overtaking Fred Gleeson on Lap 146, however, and briefly led the race before tire degradation pushed him back, securing a commendable 6th place finish.

The race tension escalated when Ferdi Arnold (pictured), involved in a prior altercation with Fred Gleeson last weekend, deliberately attempted to impede Gleeson on track, resulting in Arnold’s car crashing and his subsequent retirement. Already down multiple laps due to handling issues that forced him to pit on Lap 83, Arnold saw his chance to enact revenge. This incident led to Arnold’s three-race suspension for aggressive driving following a hearing post-race.

Lachlan Davis of Arcuri Motorsport faced steering issues on Lap 148 but managed to secure the team’s first-ever points finish by coming in 14th, whilst Hunter Davies’ race concluded prematurely on Lap 152 due to clutch issues, leading to the final yellow flag. During this caution, Knud Nielsen’s premature pit crew entry resulted in a drive-through penalty, dropping him from 14th to 36th.

The race culminated dramatically as Boris Visser and Fred Gleeson vied for the lead. Visser initially appeared poised to secure his second consecutive win, but Gleeson’s persistence paid off as he took the lead on the penultimate lap, clinching his first victory.

Championship Standings After the Race